Vehicle wheel



March 5, 1935.

J H. HUNT El AL 1,993,061

' VEHICLE WHEEL Filed June 50, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Willi/I011INVENTORS .Jl/aro/d Humand Harry .fHo/fl.

I (Wu/212 4 THE/PATTORNEY.

-March 5, 1935. J H, HUNT ET A 1,993,061

VEHICLE WHEEL Filed June 30, 1952 2, Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVEN TORSJ'l/aro/d Hu 2 and Harry J. 0/77.

THE/R ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 5.193s I Q I 1,993,061

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VEHICLE WHEEL J. Hamid Hunt and Harry J.Horn, Lansing, Mich, assignors to Motor Wheel Corporation,

Lansing, Mich, a corporation of Michigan I Application June 30, 1932,Serial No. 620,064 a Claims- (01. sol-s1) The present invention relatesto vehicle wheels forms of securing means for attaching the shield andmore particularly to the combination with a to the vehicle wheel;vehicle wheel of aremovable shield or cover plate Figure VII is apartial plan view'of the sefor the same. curing means shown in Figure V;and

5 Shields or cover plates are used with vehicle Figure VIII is a partialplan view of the secur- 5 wheels for the purpose of improving thealipearins means shown in Figure VI. ance of the wheel. A light weightmetal shield The vehicle wheel shown in Figure I as an can be formed toprovide any desired configuraillustrative embodiment of the presentinvention within wide limits and can be finished in t n consists facylindr ca hu sh l 10. wh

.10 substantiallyanydesiredmanner. Theprimary i f l'mefeelll'veddlskeeellredto 1 function of a wheel is to support thevehicle the hub shell 10, and a conventional drop center with which itis associated and it must necessarily tire car y rim 12 se u to theOuter P l be designed to accomplish this result. In proeryof thedisk 11..It should, of course,beunderducing wheels utility is of greaterconsideration stood that any other form of wheel body w IT thanappearance. Accordingly shields are pmas wood, wire or steel spokes maybe utilized in I vided for vehicle wheels to supply the desired Pl Ofthe i 11 i de i likewise. 8 hdecorative elrect without impairing themaxi e al w ee felloe m y be used i place o mum utilitarian efiicienc ofth h l, the rim 12 without departing from the spirit or Where decorativeshields are used in combina- Scope 0f the Preheht invention tion withvehicle wheels it is desirable to make e hub shell 10 is p o ide wit ain to them removable whereby ready access may be flange 13 at the frontSide he end w 811 hadtothe various parts of the wheel. Considerll d fl n14 at h rear i ui able diinculty has been experienced heretofore p n 1are formed in h fl ge 14 y in providing suitable means for removablysemeahs'of which the hub Shell 10 is seemed t e :5 curing a shield to avehicle wheel. Where some wheel u The u sh 10 s p e ab permanentsecuring means such as bolts or formed with all enlarged Portionindicated at 15 screws are used the cost of the assembly is maadjacentthe lr n edge 1 er of where y terially increased and the facility withwhich the decorative shield is secured thereto as will be shield may beinstalled or removed is imp ir described presently. The wheel disk 11 isse- Difficulty is also experienced in removably SeOuI- ed to the hubshell 10 and the rim 12 respec- 30 ing shields to vehicle wheels in'amanner wheretively y rivets by all objectionable rattles due to metalliccon- A Substantially cir l r Shield 1 f a dia tact between the wheel andshield is eliminated, somewhat less than that of the shoulder portionThe principal objects of the present invention 19 0f the 11m 1 ipositioned against the side of r are the provision of resilient meansfor removthe Wheel with its Peripheral Portion Within the 35 ablysecuring a shield to a vehicle wheel and annular shoulder portion 9 ofth rim A the provision of non-metallic means for preventshown in FiguresI and I! the shield comprises 8 ing intermittent o t t b t t shield andcontinuous circular sheet of metal which closes the vehicle wheelwhereby objectionable noises the Opening termed a t e mint Side f the huare created. a shell 10 teiizihereby the necessity for a hubsuligbis 0An illustrative embodiment of the resent inehmine' A ab e c n 20 closesa e vention is shown in the accompanying drawings, el l s ti ttl $6; 1ghrell h whiglrtaeies inwhich: 1 a e ve orming a o a Figure I is a crosssectional view of a vehicle E tire, not adapted be wheel provided with aremovable shield; mated with the rim 45-Theshield18isremovablysecuredtotheve-FigureIIisasideviewinelevationotthe clewheelbymmotarmnpmm 3312 1 2 aside friew in elevation of the welded to the inner surface of the shieldadjacent securing ring M by the shield shown in itscentralportion.Alaterallyextending portion r2201::aering21isofslixhtlygreaterdlameter50 Figure IV is a crosssectional view taken on but m g g??? g am t iii if ii-r mflig" sto a 2:ime: mm? ts:

. on g ecrease ective views of vehicle wheels illustrating modifiedinternal diameter of the portion 22 whereby the i ring may be pressedinto snug engagement with the external surface of the hub shell 10. Anopening 24 is formed in the ring 21 immediately behind each of thedepressions 23 whereby to increase the flexibility of the ring in thatarea to facilitate the installation and removal of the shield 18.

The structure shown in Figure V is a modified form of, shield andsecuring means. In that structure the shield 18 is provided with acircular opening in the central portion thereof and the edge of theshield about the opening is bent inwardly and back upon itself to form aflange 29 enclosing one extremity of a ring 25. The laterally extendingportion of the ring 25 is of a diameter slightly less than the externaldiameter of the enlarged portion 16 of the hub shell 10. Notches 26 arecut in the edge of the ring 25 at intervals about the circumferencethereof whereby to increase the flexibility of the ring and to permitthe same to be sprung sulflciently to pass over the enlarged portion 16and to firmly engage the hub shell 10. Where a shield of the type shownin Figure V is used it is also necessary to provide a hub cap 27 for theopening at the front edge of the hub shell. the cap preferably extendsover the folded edge 29 of the shield 18 whereby to present a smoothappearance throughout the entire extent of the hub cap and shield 18.

In the modified structure shown in Figures VI and VIII the shield 18 isprovided with a central opening of slightly greater diameter than theopening formed by the inturned flange 13 at the front side of the hubshell 10. A ring 30 having a portion parallel to the shield 18 and alaterally extending portion 31 is preferably welded to the shield 18 inconcentric relation to the central opening formed therein. The internaldiameter of the lateral portion 31 is slightly less than the externaldiameter of the enlarged portion 16 of the hub shell 10. The lateralportion 31 is preferably provided with a plurality of notches 32 atspaced intervals about the circumference thereof whereby that portionmay be flexed sufliciently to pass over the enlarged portion 16 of thehub shell 10 and to snugly engage the external surface of the hub shellwhereby to removably secure the shield thereto. The hub cap 27 closingthe opening formed at the front side of the hub shell 10 preferablyextends over the edge of the shield 18 defining the central openingtherethrough.

While the securing ring 21 illustrated in Figures I, III and IV has beenshown and described in connection with a continuous disk 18 it should beunderstood that it may also be used with a disk provided with a centralopening therethrough,

as illustrated in Figure VI. Likewise, the ring 30- illustrated inconnection with the shield 18 having a central opening therethrough mayalso be .used with a shield similar to that shown in Figures I and IIwhich is not provided with a central opening. Each of the securingdevices heretofore described is adapted to removably secure the shield18 to the hub shell 10.

The periphery of the shield 18 is preferably flanged as indicated at 33and is positioned within the shoulder portion 19 of the rim 12. RivetsAs shown, the edge 28 of 84 are welded to the inner surface of theperiphery of the shield 18 at spaced intervals. Nonmetallic caps 35 suchas rubber, for example, provided with central openings therethrough areextended over the ends 36 of the rivets 34. The caps 35 are preferablycylindrical in shape and of considerably greater length than the rivets36 whereby to prevent the periphery of the disk from contacting the rim12 direct. In this manner a resilient non-metallic contact is providedbetween the periphery of the shield 18 and the rim 12 whereby allobjectionable noises and rattles are eliminated. The shield ispreferably formed as to contour whereby when the shield is secured tothe hub the periphery of the shield presses the caps 35 firmly againstthe rim. The size of caps 35 and the manner in which they are secured tothe shield may, of course, be varied to any desired extent as long asthey prevent the shield from contacting the rim. 1

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that this inventionprovides means for removably securing a shield to a vehicle wheel huband for preventing the periphery of the shield from contacting directlywith the wheel rim. K

While only the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shownand described it should be understood that the invention is not limitedthereto but is coextensive with the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

l. A vehicle wheel including in combination a substantially cylindricalhub shell, a wheel body secured to the hub shell, a rim member securedto the wheel body, a substantially circular shield disposed with itsouter periphery adjacent the rim member, a central opening formed in theshield, the edge of the shield about the opening being bent inwardly toretain a ring adapted to engage the external surface of the hub shellwhereby to removably secure the shield to the hub shell.

2. A vehicle wheel including in combination a substantially cylindricalhub shell, a wheel body secured to the hub shell, a rim member securedto the wheel body, a substantially circular shield disposed with itsouter periphery adjacent the rim member, a central opening formed in theshield, the edge of the shield adjacent the central opening therethroughbeing bent back upon itself, and

a ring provided with a laterally, extending flange adapted to engage theexternal surface of the hub shell secured within the said flanged edgeof the shield.

3. A vehicle wheel including in combination a substantially cylindricalhub shell, a wheel body 5 secured to the hub shell, a rim member securedto the wheel body, a substantially circular shield disposed with itsouter periphery adjacent the rim member, a central opening formed in theshield, the edge of the shield about the central opening formed thereinbeing bent inwardly to retain a ring adapted to engage the externalsurface of the hub shell whereby to removably secure the shield to thehub shell, and a plurality of openings formed in the edge of the saidring whereby to increase the flexibility thereof J. HAROLD HUNT.

HARRY'J. HORN.

